Marduk
Memento Mori
1. Memento Mori
Come and revel
Jubilate
Come, rejoice in the wedding of decay
In the gospel of the worm
And the promise of the grave
Come and rejoice, come and sing
To the one rightful king
Come and lay bare your breath
For his name is Death
Memento mori
Blood from the nose
From the cross
From the mound
Celebrating
That your one birth-right is a hole in the ground
Memento mori
Memento mori
Memento mori
Seize the pale
Carpe mortem
Dead hue!
Carpe diem
Seize the grave
And now
Carpe fuck you
Mori
Mori
Come, behold
Both hands point to old
Every minute is a viper
Every second is a toad
Every cross, every stone
Is a sure horoscope
Every coffin, every urn
A beacon of hope
Memento mori
2. Heart of the Funeral
Through forests of crosses
And through gardens of stone
Over beds of granite
And forgotten bones
Through a wonderland of
Coffins, big and small
In search of the heart
Of the funeral
The funeral
The funeral
The funeral
Under skies of false rain
Upon clouds of ash
Carried by the scent of
Death and fresh-cut grass
Around the greed of Rudolf
Into sweet-smelling fog
In search for meaning
And the grave of God
The grave of God
The grave of God
The grave of God
A smouldering seance
On wings of tar
A fork in the road
Of the morning star
Under leaves of sacrifice
And the Gotlander's spell
In search for reason
And the gate to hell
The gate to hell
The gate to hell
The gate to hell
3. Blood of the Funeral
High on the flesh
Of the knell and the psalm
Drunk on the blood
Of the funeral
Ridden by lust
And sepulchral thirst
I come dressed in hunger
And the trauma of birth
Sun of maggots
Decay is my light
My breaths are all anthems
To the moth and the mite
The whore is dead
I fall down to pray
And to celebrate death
As the god of our faith
There it is again
That putrid smell
Could Belinda have been right?
But then again, so is hell
Rotting bosom
Her stench is my church
Her shell shall serve as pulpit
Until reclaimed by the earth
Lifeless altar
A fresh cross of bones
Her cold flesh shall be my voice
Until the worms bring her home
High on the breath
Of the slip and the fall
Fuelled by the yolk
Of the burial
Black and blue creed
On a hymnal of skin
To re-school the clergy
That to breathe is to sin
A song through the holes
Where the eyes have been
To convince the council
That to die is to win
High on the flesh
Of the knell and the psalm
Drunk on the blood
Of the funeral
On wings of ash
And wild pallbearer mirth
Soaring on the cool breeze
Of yet another stillbirth
There it is again
That livid hue
The wind is growing stiffer
But then again, so are you
4. Shovel Beats Sceptre
Has it dawned on you yet?
Have you begun to grasp
That life is not a clock
But an hourglass?
Are you prepared?
Is your rat-nest in order?
Will your mind be at ease
When the shadows grow taller?
Hopeless odds
The game is fixed
See death teardown the playground
A knife in the throat
Just to see if it fits
See life sneak out through the Devil's hatch
Blazing scythe - book of lies
Scissors beats paper
Orb of flies - throne of mice
Shovel beats sceptre
Hopeless buds
The soil is sick
See reason reach for the tinderbox
A modest flame
And a bundle of sticks
All flesh is grass when the ashes call
Mouths of dirt - angel birth
Tombstone beats feather
Wall of urns - crown of worms
Shovel beats sceptre
Has it dawned on you yet?
Have you begun to grasp
That life is not a clock
But an hourglass?
Are you prepared?
Is your rat-nest in order?
Will your mind be at ease
When the shadows grow taller?
Your days are numbered
No matter what you've been told
So, stop now and consider
That you've never been this old
That you've never been this old
That you've never been this old
That you've never been this old...
Pope-less odds
The throat is slit
See leafed hands raise the loving cup
A pale vowel
From the deaconess' lips
All flesh is cash when the gavel falls
Oblong box - gilded cross
Coffin beats saviour
Velvet knots - maggot pox
Shovel beats sceptre
5. Charlatan
Charlatan!
Thou false light and fraud among frauds
Oh, holy trilemma
We have come here to bask in thy fall
We have come here to revel in thy withdrawal
Charlatan!
Thou weaver of spells from afar
No foul trick can save you now
No cursed prayer, hymn, or psalm
No enchanted cross, no bewitched moon or star
Charlatan!
Poison root of Abraham!
Charlatan!
Poison god of dust
Father Abraham had many sons
Many sons had arch-snake Abraham
I am not one of them, and neither are you
So, let us his song refute
Father Abraham had many sons
Many sons had desert-demon Abraham
I am not one of them, and neither are you
So, let's just cut him loose
Abraham! Masked shepherd of the slithering lamb
Behold your flock scattering
As we banish you back to the sand
As we banish you back to the holy land
Abraham!
Your new name is Charlatan!
Charlatan!
Cursed root of the-
6. Coffin Carol
Funeral hunger meets funeral thirst
The fruit of the grave is aglow
Tomb-flower honey, sap from a blooming hearse
Sweet nectar of death in me flows
The church bell is swollen
And ready to give birth
Sweet nectar of death from below
Jingle shovels bring
Exult and a joyous carol sing
Grave words of darkness in grave-lantern light
Your death is a sun among stars
A torch turned upside-down in order to ignite
The grave lantern in my heart
Your death is a green field
Your coffin a blue sky
Your funeral is a warm hug
On each eye, a coin
Extol and our coffin carol join
Milk from a fresh casket churned into mirth
Grapes of decay stomped into wine
Salvation is a puddle of hallowed dirt
In which we now must wallow like swine
Your death is a true friend
Your grave a caring nurse
Within whom we now must wallow like swine
7. Marching Bones
March!
March!
March!
Swift hooves of rigor mortis
Funeral sky over funeral steed
The graves are open
Bottomless quiver of plagues
The bow is drawn, and the arrow is nocked
The graves are open
The bow is bent, and the arrow is shot
We sing thy glory
Thou wild tide of death
We kneel before thee
Oh, pale deluge of marching bones
Marching bones
The big hand is on dying
The little on death
The seal is broken
By an avalanche of marching bones
Marching bones
Skull wagon, wall of coffins
Fields lush with gallows and Catherine wheels
The graves are open
And keen to show us the meaning of greed
Enchanted forest
Of Falun, red spears
We kneel before thee
Oh, rattling wave of marching bones
Marching bones
8. Year of the Maggot
Beyond the funeral, floating
Cold bed far from the grey chain of haze
A caul wrapped in the jagged lamentations
Of seven 15th-century saints
Three crowns reforged into coffins
A triad of lead, cypress, and oak
The mouth of silver soon shall blacken
Just like blue blood will, when cold
The king is dead
Long live the queen of fools
From sweet to bitter
In the year of the maggot, 1632
Sacral geometry, cardinal lust
A pale voyage on sepulchral waves
A black ship of spiritual convulsion
On a raging sea of royal decay
Beyond the funeral risen
Behind the silver-mask, a foul smile
From the high urn, a stench of confusion
And blessed 17th-century bile
The queen is dead
Long live the king of flies
From sick to sicker
In the year of the maggot, 1689
9. Red Tree of Blood
Worms upon your young
Within your lungs
Around the gospel of your death
Oh, glorious death
Oh, fading breath
We are your humble servants
Come, mercy to none
The pity is gone
The axe already earned its wings
Bring forth your kings
Off with their limbs
So, one less slug
In the
Red tree
Of blood
Gone, your branch is gone
Your line undone
Handful of dead seeds in dead soil
Now greet the void
That cursed void
In which no memory can dwell
Could this be hell?
Must break the spell
Before we're swept off by the flood
Of tainted blood
And barren mud
So, carve your runes
Into
The book
Of wombs
Your names
Into
The tree
Of veins
Snakes dwell in your wine
Around your spine
Along the pillars of your faith
It is too late
You took the bait
And now you'll take it to the grave
Beyond the pale
No longer slave
No longer shackled to the cross
The moon is lost
The star is tossed
So, one less god
In the
Red tree
Of blood
10. As We Are
White rose of death
Black box of bones
This coffin is my song
A lifeless wreath
On a mossy bed of cold
This tomb is now a tongue
Ruthless mirror of stone
Living monument of decay
A bitter truth
And a foreshadow
Of what you shall become
This rotten fruit
For some, a dinner and a show
But for most, just a lesson
The language may have changed
But the message is the same
As you are, we once were
As we are, so shall you be
As you are, we once were
As we are, so shall you be
White rose of death
Black birch of blood
Three psalms on wings of mould
A lecture on rebirth
From a clergy of decay
Each worm is a sermon
Echoes too old to hear
But the message is loud and clear
As you are, we once were
As we are, so shall you be
As you are, we once were
As we are, so shall you be
As you are, we once were
As we are, so shall you be
As you are, we once were
As we are, so shall you be
As you are, we once were
As we are, so shall you be
As you are, we once were
As we are, so shall you be
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